Japanese contact lens company Menicon has come to the aid of rice paddy farmers on Sado Island who are trying to save the local Japanese crested Ibis.

Rice farmers are encouraged to leave their paddies submerged during winter to enable the birds to continue to feed, but that leaves the farmers unable to clear leftover rice straw, which interferes with rice cultivation.

To address this problem, Nagoya-based Menicon used its stain removal technology - developed over many years to break down and remove stains and debris that sticks to contact lenses - to create a substance to accelerate the decomposition of rice straw. Since the substance can simply be sprinkled on rice fields, it encourages more farmers to leave them flooded after harvest.

The wild population of crested ibis, which had been near extinction for decades, is regaining in numbers and more than 300 birds now live on the Sado island.